Week of Monday, October 21 to 25
October 22 and October 24
2A and 3A
1-Free College Application Week
2-Complete "Always Running" from 10-18
3-Find answers to your two questions (see me)
3-Do the next assignment here:
Watch Clips Here
Video cue: “Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, and Raymond Santana were tried first, in June of 1990” through “In 1998, Raymond Santana was arrested for dealing drugs. As a prior felon, he was sent back to prison for 3 ½ to 7 years, longer than if it had been his first offense”
Synopsis: The young men are tried as adults and convicted of rape, despite inconsistent and inaccurate confessions, DNA evidence that excludes them, and no eyewitness accounts that connect any of them to the victim.
Post-‐‑Viewing Discussion Questions
Student Groups, Select One Question Per Group
October 22 and October 24
2A and 3A
1-Free College Application Week
- Go to NC RDS to Recover Username: www.NCresidency.org if you need to recover account name and reset password.
- Follow information provided by counseling to apply for NHC Countdown to College
- Links: CFNC.org
- [email protected]
- College Essay Writing and ACT Review
2-Complete "Always Running" from 10-18
3-Find answers to your two questions (see me)
3-Do the next assignment here:
Watch Clips Here
Video cue: “Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, and Raymond Santana were tried first, in June of 1990” through “In 1998, Raymond Santana was arrested for dealing drugs. As a prior felon, he was sent back to prison for 3 ½ to 7 years, longer than if it had been his first offense”
Synopsis: The young men are tried as adults and convicted of rape, despite inconsistent and inaccurate confessions, DNA evidence that excludes them, and no eyewitness accounts that connect any of them to the victim.
Post-‐‑Viewing Discussion Questions
Student Groups, Select One Question Per Group
- Assess the press coverage, the taped confessions, the mood of the public, and the qualifications of the defense team as the trial of Antron McCray, Yusef Salaam, and Raymond Santana opened.
- Did the suspects’ economic and social status have any bearing on their legal defense and how they were perceived by the jury?
- During the trial, different groups of protesters gathered outside the courthouse. Examine the motives of each group of protesters. What was the message each of these groups were trying to send? What was each side trying to accomplish? Were their messages similar in any way?
- If you were to experience a trial like this in your community, and you knew as much as the public in New York knew at the time, which side would you be on and why?
- Examine Trisha Meili’s (the victim’s) day in court. What impact did her presence in the courtroom have on the jury, the public, and the fate of the young men on trial?
- During the trial, the defense lawyers’ strategy was to attack the credibility of the confessions and the methods the police used to get them. They did not offer the alibi defense. Discuss which strategy you think would have been most effective with the jury and why. Why do you think the defense teams chose to focus on the confessions and not the timeline of the events? If you were on the defense team, would you have done anything differently?
Tuesday, October 1st to Thursday, October 3rd
Turn and Talk: How do we remain true to ourselves as we move in and out of different communities, cultures and contexts?
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October 3rd Part Two Continue here:
The Central Park Five Film
Discussion Groups
Read Articles
Watch Clips Here
Public Reaction, Media Frenzy, and False Confessions:
Teacher led:
Video cue: Jim Dwyer: “In those days, there were probably six murders a day” (approximately 36:51) through Saul Kassin “…confessions are irresistibly persuasive and almost the effects can’t be reversed” (approximately 1:10:43).
Synopsis: The police announce to a press hungry for sensational crime stories that the young men have been part of a gang of teenagers who were out “wilding,” assaulting joggers and bicyclists in Central Park that evening. The ensuing media frenzy is met with a public outcry for justice.
Post-‐‑Viewing Discussion Questions
Student Groups Select One Question Per Group
- Why was the successful prosecution of this case so important to the New York Police Department at this time in 1989? What was at stake for New York City’s criminal justice system?
- Discuss the different reactions within the African American community. Did many blacks see this case differently than whites? How so? How did they see it in similar terms? Explain why many saw similarities to other infamous cases such as Emmett Till, the Scottsboro Boys, and lynchings of the early 1900s. Explain whether you feel this comparison is fair.
- Review the following terms used by the media in reporting about the case: Discuss whether using such terms to refer to the suspects, the victim, and the crime itself represent objective news reporting or editorializing. Why do you think the media chose to use these terms? What kinds of conclusions does the public draw from such terms? Do you feel the media coverage further fueled the public’s anger over the crime?
- Characterizing the suspects: “Wilding,” “Rampaging in Wolf Packs,” “Wolf Pack’s Prey”
- Characterizing the victim: “Lived a Dream Life,” “Golden Girl,” “Female Jogger near Death after Savage Attack by Roving Gang”
- Characterizing the crime: “Central Park Horror,” “Nightmare in Central Park,” “Wolf Pack Ignored Her Cries, Called It Fun”
- Initially, Raymond Santana, Kevin Richardson, and three other teenagers were taken to the Central Park Precinct on the night of April 19, 1989, for unlawful assembly. They were told they would be given a ticket to family court and sent home. Upon hearing that a woman had been raped and beaten in Central Park, however, the police began to aggressively question the teens with accusations of their involvement. Why do you think the police believed these boys were involved? Do you feel the police were out of line or just doing their job and following the investigation?
- The decision in Miranda v. Arizona (1966) states that “The person in custody must, prior to interrogation, be clearly informed that he has the right to remain silent, and that anything he says will be used against him in court; he must be clearly informed that he has the right to consult with a lawyer and to have the lawyer with him during interrogation, and that, if he is indigent, a lawyer will be appointed to represent him.”
Do you think the Central Park Five were aware of and understood their rights? What rights and protections should people being interrogated have? - After hours of confrontational questioning, the boys began to break down. The police played them against each other, and suggested that if they cooperated they would be able to go home. Do you think these tactics were ethical on the part of the police? Why or why not? Does it matter that the boys facing such aggressive interrogation tactics were between the ages of 14 and 15? Do you feel they were interrogated fairly?
Together in Class: Review the section of the videotaped statements conducted by Elizabeth Lederer (approximately 40:25–48:54). Were their rights honored? Did it matter at that point? Does the fact that the teenagers still believed they were going home for cooperating have any bearing on your conclusions about how the videotaped statements were conducted? Explain your answer.
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Wednesday, September 18th PBS Documentary through Tuesday, September 24th